Random Thoughts

First and foremost, I'm concerned because the more time passes, the more rides get filled. That's a problem because there weren't a huge amount of quality rides that were open to begin with. On top of that not only is Steve looking for a new ride but other drivers who are talented behind the wheel such as Travis Kvapil, a former truck series champion; Ricky Craven, also a winner in all three of Nascar's highest series; Ward Burton, a Daytona 500 winner and five-time Cup series winner; as well as drivers such as Scott Wimmer and Brandon Whitt, who are two young drivers who could have promising futures as racers if they are given the appropriate equipment to show what they can do. What that means is that Steve is competing for a small amount of rides with a lot of other drivers. I have no doubt that he's talking to teams, in fact it's known that he's talked with Bill Davis Racing and Wyler Racing about a possible truck ride. However, there's a difference between negotiating and actually having a signed deal. Things change rapidly in Nascar - what seems certain can be completely different a week later. Steve himself had a hand-shake deal with an unnamed team to drive in the Busch series in 2004 and re-neged on that to go race for Orleans Racing in the truck series. Mike Bliss thought he had a hand-shake deal in place to continue racing the #0 in 2006, only to find out weeks later that his services were no longer wanted.

I want to see Steve racing in 2006 but I'd also like it to be in a competitive ride that will give him the opportunity to race up front and win. Steve's been in way too many rides that are un-competitive from the #1 towards the end of when he was in it, to the #30 to the way things evolved for the #62 team as the season progressed in 2005. I don't have a preference for what series Steve races in or for what team - I trust that he will sign with the team that he feels will give him the best chance for success and happiness. But the more time that passes the harder it's going to be to find a situation that is almost perfect as opposed to having to settle for a ride that isn't as good as he might like. There's also the possiblity that Steve will find himself in the position of Ward Burton, being unwilling to compromise what he wants in a ride, which isn't an entirely bad attitude, and will find himself on the outside looking in when testing and the first race in Daytona rolls around.

But I'm going to assume that by the time testing starts next month there will be an annoucement about Steve officially signing with a new team. However, that still doesn't mean that I don't have some concerns. That's because time matters. Teams don't sit idle in the off-season. There's cars to be built and all sorts of plans to be made as to how that particular team is going to contend for the championship in the series that they race in. I would think that process is made more difficult when they don't know for sure who the driver is. In addition, there's the process by which a team and it's driver gets to know each other and learns to work well together. That's important. Being able to work well as a team together makes for much smoother races with better finishes. When Steve joined Orleans Racing in January of 2004, it was said by Steve and others that joining the #62 team so late put them behind the game when it came time to race because they were still getting used to working together. Ultimately Steve finished 9th in the points but the first half of the season had some speed bumps and I have always wondered if Steve might not have finished the season even higher had he not joined the team so late.

When a driver joins a new team there is always an adjustment period for everyone, just as there is in every new situation. Teams don't magically develop a good working relationship with each other or their driver. They need time to get to know each other. When Steve was with DEI's #1 team he said that he used to go during the off-season to the shop to spend time with his team, including going out to lunch with them. I suppose it seems silly to some that I would think that was important, but I believe that it was. That was the way that Steve got to know his crew not just as the people who worked on his car but also as human beings. I'm sure not every driver goes out to eat with their crew but I think that they all make some sort of effort to have a good relationship with their crews because of how it helps them to work together. It's a lot easier to get to know people when it's not a pressure filled race weekend. But it's not just for social reasons either, it's also for practical reasons such as learning about how Steve likes his car/truck set-up and potentially running through pit practice a few times.

Even more important is Steve developing a good rapport with whoever his new crew chief is going to be. Good communication between crew chief and driver is essential. In the past it's not always seemed like Steve has enjoyed a good relationship with some of his prior crew chiefs. But it's more than whether or not they like each other. It's about the crew chief believing in and supporting his driver and doing everything in his power to give them a car that can win races. If Steve has a opportunity to get to know and work with his crew chief a little during the off-season I think it will increase the chances that they will have a good working relationship in which the crew chief is willing to do things such as listen to Steve when he requests changes during races to believing that Steve can win races. After all, people are often more willing to go the extra mile for those they get along with.

There's also the question of the equipment that Steve races in. If the team is an existing one there will already be cars or trucks on hand for Steve to race and there will likely only be minor changes needed such as fitting a seat for Steve. However, if it's a new team cars and trucks will need to be built. I assume this process begins without the driver but I'm not sure how many will be built if they don't know for sure if they will even be fielding a team until they have a driver definitely signed. It it's an organization that has another team then presumably they will use some of that team's cars or trucks for Steve. But I look at Michael Waltrip's #55 team - he signed with BDR in September and they still don't have all his cars built. So imagine what happens when a driver doesn't officially join a team until a few weeks before testing and the season starts?

There's also the matter of who Steve's sponsor is. Correction, who Steve's sponsor is if his team has a sponsor. If they don't have a sponsor they will need to find one. Not having an outside primary sponsor is what led to Steve being released four races from the end of the 2005 season. So it's essential that Steve's new team has a primary sponsor. But if there's no driver officially confirmed, I think it's harder to lure a full-time sponsor. Particularly since there are many other teams who are also looking for sponsors. I think it sounds a lot better to a sponsor when there's a definite driver rather than talking about who might possibly drive for the team if they sign on. There's also the question of sponsors who might be interested that the team doesn't know about yet. An official announcement might prompt some sponsors to want to get involved with Steve's new team. However, the more time that passes by the more of a chance that those sponsors might align themselves with another team such as that of David Reutimann or Jack Sprague to name two drivers whose teams are looking for primary sponsors. Of course when a team does have a sponsor there are many obligations that a driver must fullfill for their sponsor. I would think that it would be a lot easier to take care fo some of those obligations during the off-season.

From a marketing and public relations perspective it's important for things to become official sooner rather than later as well. Depending on the size, every organization has either a public relations person or staff. Some have separate marketing and merchandizing departments as well. Then the sponsors, and sometimes the drivers themselves, also have public relations representatives. All of these people must develop a plan and strategies for the following season to best utilize their driver for the utmost visibility to promote the team, the driver and most importantly the sponsor. Some might say so what if Steve doesn't get the maximum amount of publicity right away? But that plan often also includes merchandise so the later that Steve joins his new team officially, the later merchandise for fans to buy becomes available. Of course that effects revenue, both for the team and also for Steve himself since he likely gets a percentage of the profits from merchandise sales. There are also things like not being able to work on updating websites until the announcement is official. I'm not just talking about a news story with an annoucement of who the new team is, I'm talking about a complete overhaul that reflect that Steve is the new driver or the team or on his own website reflects his new organization and sponsors. Those things take time, sometimes a lot of time, depending on how complicted the site is.

In addition, there's the matter of the media. It's a lot easier to pitch a story about Steve joining a new team in the off-season when there's not a tremendous amount going on. And again, for purposes of getting a sponsor visiblity or attracting a new sponsor it does matter if the maximum amount of media outlets carry stories about the official announcement. The closer it gets to testing the more teams are pitching stories about their own changes and outlook for the 2006 season which makes it harder to get coverage. I would like to see Steve get the most amount of positive media coverage as possible because it's good for him, good for his team and good for his sponsor.

Being concerned about when and if Steve finds a new ride for 2006 is completely separate from what I think about Steve as a race car driver and as a person. I think Steve is extremely talented behind the wheel and if he's given competitive cars he can race up front and win. I also think he's very fan-friendly and would represent any sponsor well. So it's not a matter of thinking that no teams would be interested in having Steve as their driver. It's simply that the more time that passes the more I can't ignore the unsettled feeling that I have about how Steve's situation is and will evolve. But it's not only for Steve. In fact, much of what I outlined can apply not only to Steve but to all the other drivers who are also still looking for rides. It's not just Steve who needs to find a ride as soon as possible it's Travis, Scott and Ricky as well.

So the clock continues to tick and testing, as well as the first race in Daytona, continues to get closer and closer. It may only be a matter of time before Steve gets a new ride for 2006 but I hope that it happens sooner rather than later for the sake of Steve and his new team.